Kamen Rider DenAe
by Team Phantom Tiger
Summary: Post-CL, Post-ish Den-O - Wherein finding a train of time isn't just the start of a new adventure - it may be the key to keeping Aelita sane. T for mild language and shipping/plot drama - mostly plot drama.
1. 01: PreBoarding Check!

AUTHOR'S NOTE 7/4/10: This is a story I'd planned on writing anywhere between a year and a half and two years from now. If you've been paying attention to the home blog and my occasional contributions to Super Robot Wars Q, however, you'd have the faintest idea that I had to revise my timetable to avoid potential claims that the original Den-Ae concept had been "stolen" from Sciencegar Sciencebolt's fair-use cauldron.

But enough politics, let's do this thing.  
- /m/'s Haken

* * *

[A certain day in June, near a certain school on the Seine…]

Summer came with the usual fanfare at Kadic Academy, and even after finally being relieved of their duty, the ex-Lyoko Warriors hadn't noticed much difference. Ulrich and Odd had managed to avoid convincing their parents to ship them back to their home countries with substandard marks, Yumi performed within her own family's expectations, and it was no surprise to anyone that Jeremy and Aelita were graduating with honors.

None of this was on Aelita's mind, however, as she sat at the bank of the river – as she was wont to do these past few days – and contemplated the factory just across the expanse of water. The old car plant – more specifically, the supercomputer hidden underneath – had served far too many roles for her over these past few years.

_Sanctuary._ Somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 to 15 years, she'd spent in stasis on the digital world of Lyoko, hiding from the people who were after her parents.

_Prison._ In that time, however, her devirtualization code had been horribly corrupted, and some days it was only Jeremy's infatuation with her that had kept her alive and out of XANA's clutches.

_Gateway._ Even after breaking the ties that effectively made the supercomputer her life support, though, she and the others depended on it to stop the rogue AI from wreaking havoc on the Internet proper – and in the real world – once and for all.

_But at what cost?_

The cost…thanks to the Return To The Past system, that was a little hard to quantify. The bits of history that weren't rewritten, though, made the picture a little clearer: constant deception of the Kadic faculty, theft of a nuclear fuel rod, the whole debacle with William Dunbar…

_…and Father._ Franz Hopper, Waldo Schaeffer, whatever you wanted to call him – the man who raised Aelita and designed Lyoko eventually gave his own life to help the gang put a permanent end to XANA.

_…but does it end there? CAN it end there?_ Aelita pondered the questions left unanswered in the wake of her father's sacrifice and the supercomputer's deactivation. _Who was hunting us down back then, and are they still looking for me now? Where will I go after I'm finally done with school at Kadic? And why…why do I seem to be the only one who remembers Mother?_

The image seared into her mind since childhood resurfaced. In her mind's eye, Aelita saw once again the pleading face of Antea Hopper, pressed against the back window of a jet-black SUV as it sped off the Schaeffer family's winter estate.

And she wept for lack of any answers, as she had every day since she'd started sneaking off to the river bank.

**_Kamen Rider Den-Ae_**

An always-at-climax Code Lyoko crossover by /m/'s Haken Browning

[LEGAL]

Code Lyoko TM and © The MoonScoop group and subsidiaries.  
Original Kamen Rider Den-O concept TM/© Ishinomori Productions/Toei Co. Ltd.  
This work is a non-profit, non-commercial combination of the above, with certain elements copyleft Team Phantom Tiger.

[/LEGAL]

**Episode 1: Pre-Boarding Check! Secure All Party Members!**

* * *

"Y'know…I should've figured you'd be here."

The pink-haired girl turned around, her still-puffy face meeting that of the speaker. "Jeremy…"

The bespectacled blonde took a seat next to Aelita, setting his backpack down. "I'm pretty sure you're thinking about a lot of the same things I've been wondering about over the last few days…and trust me when I say it hits home for me as hard as it does for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah…" Jeremy withdrew a tissue from somewhere in his backpack, wiping one of Aelita's tears away. "I can't really compare with what you're dealing with in terms of family, but…I just can't feel right with all I've had to do to support you here as 'Aelita Stones.' Sure, we'll have another year of school together here, but after that…"

Several seconds of silence passed. "…Sounds like you've run up against the same wall I have."

"Yeah…" Jeremy continued. "Don't take this the wrong way, but…I don't think I could still be happy with myself – with _us_ – if you're still dependent on me after we finish here, maybe even before then. Makes me feel like I'm taking care of you as a pet, when I'd really like for us to be…equals? Partners? Something along those lines."

"I was just thinking something like that…but it seems like there's still so much to figure out about ME. I kinda wish I could strike out on my own, but it just doesn't seem safe to do so quite yet. The whole family thing, y'know?"

"Right, right…" Jeremy withdrew his cell phone, noting the time displayed. "You want to start heading back? Yumi said this new coffee shop opened up in town a few days ago, and was wondering if we could all meet up there today."

"When?"

"Oh, in about fifteen minutes."

Aelita smirked as she put her arms around Jeremy. "If you were gonna come down here to ask me out on a date, you should've just said so!"

"But you…and all the…oh, fine." The blonde blushed as they got up and broke off the embrace. "Just…please, don't go off on your own like this, OK? There's safety concerns; you said it yourself."

"Well, where do you expect me to contemplate the universe? And don't say 'my dorm' or 'your dorm,' Jim would have a fit."

Jeremy's blush intensified as the duo made their way back to civilization.

* * *

[A few minutes later, in the commercial district of Bolounge-Billancourt…]

Aelita peered at the sign atop the storefront as she and Jeremy approached the other half of their party. "'Milk Dipper,' huh? Sounds like a better name for a candy store, really."

"Yeah, the proprietors are supposed to be Japanese," Yumi Ishiyama piped up, "and you know the love affair Japanese businesses have with western words, especially English."

"Go figure. Anyway, sorry we're late."

"Don't be. Ulrich and Odd just got here a couple minutes ago themselves." Yumi thumbed at the brunette and blonde behind her. "And I'm actually expecting a couple more right about…" Her eyes darted both ways down the street before locking onto the newcomers in question. "…now!"

The other four turned as the last two members of the group approached…and Ulrich Stern's jaw dropped. "Sissi and William? Seriously? You invited THOSE two?"

"Actually, it was Odd's idea."

The brunette turned to his companion. "WHAT? C'mon, Odd, this is a serious violation of bro code!"

Odd Della Robbia crossed his arms. "It's an intervention, is what it is! Every night, I have to deal with you agonizing about keeping both Yumi and Sissi away from each other's throats and out of your pants. The sooner we get everything straightened out between the three of you, the less summer time you waste sulking. Same goes for Yumi dealing with you and William – Hiroki's been complaining about her every afternoon in the rec room."

"So wait…" Sissi Delmas piped up, adjusting her hair band. "…you told me to meet Ulrich here for group therapy instead of a date? I swear, if you're doing this to keep us apart, I'll-"

"C'mon, Sissi, it can't be THAT bad." William Dunbar pulled his hands out of his pockets. "Heck, I really just decided to come here to try the coffee, but if you guys really think there's some weird stuff going on with the four of us, I'm at least willing to hear you out."

"Ummm…wow," Jeremy interjected.

"'Wow' what?"

"It's been, what, two months? And I'm still not used to hearing William be reasonable."

"Two months since wha-Oh." Sissi caught herself as she recalled what the rest of the gang had told her about how they'd covered for William's abduction by XANA. A fair portion of the 9th grade graduating class at Kadic was also pretty dumbfounded by the temporary drop in 'William's' intelligence at the time, actually. "All right, fine, I'm willing to be civil about this, too. But if you pull a fast one, Della Robbia, I swear my father's gonna be investigating the strange odors coming out of your room by lights out tonight, got it?"

Odd gulped at the implicit threat at the well-being of his beloved (and contraband) Kiwi before nodding.

"Well, now that we've gotten the drama out of our systems for the day, let's see what this place has to offer, shall we?" With that, Jeremy pushed the door open for the group to enter.

* * *

[Inside the shop…]

Despite the confines of metropolitan real estate, Milk Dipper managed to contain enough tables and chairs that the seven could sit together comfortably. "I see menus," Odd inquired, "are we supposed to stay seated restaurant-style or can we just order up front?"

"Oh, we tend to do it both ways…" a sing-song female voice cut in. The group turned to see an older pink-haired woman who could be easily mistaken for Aelita ten years down the road, were it not for the streak of blue running down the left side of her locks. "Well, _garcons et filles,_ I'll give you a couple minutes to peruse the menu – if you decide before I get back, just ask for 'Madame Crim' at the counter, OK?"

The gang thanked Madame Crim as she strode toward the nearest service door, unaware that the blue streak in her hair was quickly receding…

[In the employee break room…]

'Madame Crim' slumped into one of the chairs as a blue, ogre-like humanoid wrested himself out of the body. "Ugh…remind me again why I had to take the girl out on serving duty?" Urataros grumbled as he tried to work a crick out of his neck.

"Because if we let Momo out there, he'd scare the customers off, duh," a Japanese girl no taller than Milly replied. "Honestly, bringing a combat body for restaurant work? He's gotta be nuts."

"Or Sempai just thinks he can fight his way to the people we're looking for." The turtle Imagin snickered. "Moot point anyway, though, seeing as how they're already here."

Hana's jaw dropped.

"Yep, the party of seven that just got here. Six of 'em are Singularity Points."

"Do they have any idea what we're doing here?"

"Nope. But one in particular…I can't QUITE read her 100%. Could be a Junction Point, could be something else, I dunno. Which makes her PERFECT to be the frontman…woman…whatever." Urataros drew a deep breath as he faded back into 'Madame Crim's' shell, the blue streak returning to 'her' hair. "I'm gonna go see if they're ready to order – tell the others to be ready with THOSE glasses, OK?"

Hana flashed an A-OK sign as the pink-haired lady exited the break room.

[Behind the inside counter…]

"Grrr…fucking cappuccinos, how do they work?" Momotaros clutched the sides of his head – well, the head of the purple-haired shell he was currently possessing. "All I know 'bout making coffee is how to brew the stuff, not how to doll it up!"

"Makes you wish Naomi could come help us out, huh?" Momo's companion, a dark-haired teenager, replied. "I think I've picked up enough from my sis to get everything right…"

"You better have, Ryoutaro, otherwise who knows what'll happen if we screw this up!"

"The coffee or the mission?"

"BOTH!"

Hana pushed through the service door at that moment. "Guys, Ura says he's found our subjects. Make sure you use seven #7 glasses for their orders, OK?"

The duo stared as the girl retreated. "…Well, THAT was fast," Momo broke the silence.

"It's the best we can hope for without trying to be up-front about it…"

* * *

[A few minutes and glasses of beverages later…]

"Hey Princess, what's that on the bottom of your glass?"

Aelita peered down at the remains of her frappe. "Just whipped cream. I can never seem to drink that with the rest of these-"

"No, the _bottom _bottom." Odd pointed at the glass's exterior.

"Huh?" Lifting it, the girl withdrew a folded piece of paper that was taped underneath. "Maybe they're doing some sort of inaugural giveaway, let's see what it says…" Aelita unfolded the paper…and frowned. "Shoot, it's in Japanese. Yumi, you mind?"

The group's resident Asian took the paper to interpret. "'Congratulations – your party is invited to take the train ride of the year – all years! Please ask at the front counter after payment for booking and redemption details.' Seems you just won us a free cruise, Aelita – but why would they print this in Japanese instead of French or at least English?"

"Guess we'll have to ask about THAT, too…"

A matter of minutes later, the group decided that each member would settle their bills separately. Last in line to pay at the front counter, Aelita slipped the prize ticket into the ever-perky Madame Crim's hand along with the fee for her drink. "Would you happen to have any idea what this says?"

"Oh? Why…huh, I thought I told those two to make sure this got printed in multiple languages!" Crim pocketed the slip as she withdrew the necessary change from the till. "I managed to overhear your friend translating, however, and I can assure you that you HAVE just won a free train ride for your whole group!"

"So when can we redeem this trip?"

Crim grinned. "How's right now sound?"

"Right now?" Jeremy blanched. "But we haven't packed or anything, and we're expected back at school in a few hours…"

"Details, details…" The pink-haired woman turned toward the mixing counter. "Oi, Ryou! Momo! C'mere and give our guests the business about their free trip!"

The black-haired male started speaking as he and his purple-haired companion walked up. "Well, you see, the train actually-wait, did you just call him Momo?" 'Ryou' thumbed at his partner.

"I think we can start dropping the charade at this point…" Madame Crim's voice started taking on a more masculine tone as 'she' addressed the teens. "You see…we kinda need your help starting European service for a VERY big Japanese venture."

A look of shock flashed across the group's faces. Sissi and Yumi shifted their hands into their pockets, ready to dial emergency numbers on their cell phones discreetly.

"What? No, no no, not THAT sort of business," the purple-haired male piped up. "That'd be too stupid for us to do all this work. We just need staff for a new time-traveling train, is all."

The shock intensified.

Ulrich was the first to squeak out a response: "D-did you just say 'time-traveling train?'"

"Ayup."

Jeremy quickly unfroze. "More importantly, did you say 'NEW time-traveling train?' As in, you've ALREADY got one?"

"Mm-hmm," 'Madame Crim' smirked.

"I…I think we're gonna need a minute-"

"We'd be happy to help." The others turned to Aelita, dumbfounded by her interjection. "…Or at least, I would."

"Princess, just WHAT did they put in your coffee?" Odd quickly caught himself. "Wait, was Aelita the only one to order a frappe, or is it part of the blend, or-"

"We don't add any mind-altering substances to our coffee, I assure you," 'Ryou' tried to calm the situation. "But just why did you say yes so quickly, ma'am?"

"Well…it's complicated. Let's just say I'm trying to get a head start on leaving the nest."

"It doesn't pay MUCH, if that's what you're looking for."

"Hey, I don't remember being paid at a-" 'Momo' tried to get out before one of 'Madame Crim''s hands covered his mouth.

"As long as it's enough for me to be independent, it doesn't matter." Aelita turned to the rest of the group. "Though a little assistance would be appreciated. Guys? You want in on this?"

"In on WHAT?" William asked. "I'm still thinking this whole thing is a little sketchy."

"Me too," Sissi said. Yumi and Ulrich nodded their agreement.

"Maybe if you got a better look at exactly what we DO, you could make a better-informed decision." 'Ryou' withdrew a palm-sized rectangular card from his pocket and walked toward the front door. "Should be another 15 seconds…"

"15 seconds for what?"

"For boarding, obviously."

"But we're nowhere near the train station!" Odd piped up.

"This train's a little…_different_ when it comes to boarding." Several clocks throughout the building and on the kids' mobile phones hit 2:02:02 PM as 'Ryou' pressed the card to the door, eliciting a strange whistling noise from outside. Upon opening the door, 'Ryou' took account of the group's collective shock that it had opened into the interior of a bullet train rather than the suburban Parisian street from whence they had entered the Milk Dipper. "DenLiner is now boarding for our honored guests."

**[END]**

* * *

[Next Episode Preview]

(clips from the next episode start playing as the voiceover reel starts)

Toei Announcer: _Kamen Rider Den-Ae!_  
Owner: We have invited you here because you are the only ones who can perceive this new threat.  
Jeremy: Wait…it's because we're experienced time travelers?  
Aelita: "Kamen Rider?" But I didn't want to continue fighting!  
Ryoutaro: Would you rather know peace…or the truth about your parents?  
William: You're sending her out there without any weapons?  
Jeremy: Our decision…is final.  
[Title Card: **Episode 02: Ride of a Lifetime! Awaken, New Densha Rider!**]  
Toei Announcer: The truth lies at the end of the line!

* * *

END NOTE: Remember that giveaway thing I hinted at during Chapter 7 of LKSH1/W00? Go head to Team Phantom Tiger now and read the rules for that.

As for the thrilling conclusion to this episode...I think I can knock it out by this time next month. Depends on whether the open beta for Cosmic Break gets renewed (CB, by the way, is sorta the inspiration for Ura and Momo's spare bodies, and is (c) Cyberstep). Barring any breakthrough developments in job hunting, you can expect Den-Ae and LKSH1/W00 to trade off new episodes every two weeks.  
- /m/'s Haken


	2. 02: Awaken, New Densha Rider!

AUTHOR'S NOTE 9/1: I spent the better part of the previous month feeling obligated to write this. I'm not exactly sure it's RIGHT to have to write something in order to write something else. But I think I've done enough that future chapters can concentrate less on Den-O infodump and more on getting the fic itself on track with my vision.

...And of course, on track for a possible Hyper Battle Video with Kamen Rider TheSnake over in my other cleanfic.  
-/m/'s Haken

* * *

[DenLiner – 2:02:38 PM]

"For a commuter train, this actually looks kinda roomy," Yumi remarked as the Milk Dipper entourage ushered the ex-Lyoko Warriors aboard the time-traveling train.

"I dunno," Odd replied, "It still looks kinda cramped to me. They couldn't have at least made it bigger on the inside or someth-"

"Sssssssssshhhhhhhh!" Urataros bolted out of the 'Madame Crim' body to put his hand over Odd's mouth. "We're already too close as is to being banned from England for that sort of talk!"

"Banned from England? So, is THIS why a Japanese time-traveling agency needs a European counterpart?" Aelita asked as she pried the Imagin away from the boy.

"Not quite, my lady." A booming voice from the back of the car made everyone's heads turn. All eyes leveled on a middle-aged man setting aside the fork he was using to chip away at a plate of piled fried rice. "There ARE certain territorial squabbles at work, yes, but our primary reason for bringing you here is far simpler."

"And that would be…?"

"DenLiner's business is protecting the timestream by eliminating creatures who travel into the past from a variety of unrealized futures – they have a NASTY habit of attempting to change the future through the use of mass murder."

"Creatures? Like the Technicolor freakshow you've got going here?" Sissi thumbed at Urataros and Momotaros, the latter of which was currently stuffing his 'human' shell under a table.

"You could say that our Imagin cohorts, if you will, are rogues from a previous outbreak of such temporal anomalies." The old man rose. "Once in the service of a man who attempted to link the Earth's fate to an apocalyptic Japan riddled with their kind, they decided for a variety of reasons to instead assist us, particularly young Ryoutaro, in preserving the flow of time as we know it. Or are intended to eventually know it, depending."

"Basically you don't get dental if you unmake the universe," Momotaros quipped.

"Bear in mind that Sempai's idea of 'dental' is prying out the teeth of anyone who crosses him and swapping them in as needed," Urataros retorted.

"As for the task at hand…we've received new reports of Imagin-like attacks across Europe, but we have no idea what sort of future they're coming from." The man known as the Owner of DenLiner withdrew a passport-sized card and handed it to Aelita. "We have invited you here because you are the only ones who can perceive this new threat…and may very well be the only ones who can stop it."

_

* * *

**Kamen Rider Den-Ae**_  
An always-at-climax Code Lyoko crossover by /m/'s Haken Browning

[LEGAL]

Code Lyoko TM and © The MoonScoop group and subsidiaries.

Original Kamen Rider Den-O concept TM/© Ishinomori Productions/Toei Co. Ltd.

This work is a non-profit, non-commercial combination of the above, with certain elements copyleft Team Phantom Tiger.

**Episode 2: Ride of a Lifetime! Awaken, New Densha Rider!**

* * *

"Wait…it's because we're experienced time travelers?" Jeremy chimed in.

"In a word, yes," the young Japanese male finally joined in the conversation. "Somehow, through a series of anomalies in the flow of time around Europe, almost all of you have become Singularity Points. Like us, you can tell when something has changed in the past – and thus go back and fix it."

"So how would we go about fixing it? We usually just stop bad futures from happening and rewind accordingly."

"Ah, you already know how to do it backwards," Owner replied. "Sadly, we do not have such a luxury. Instead, whoever holds the Liner Pass I just gave your friend is required to neutralize the Imagin in the past. They are formidable opponents, however, so to do this the Pass holder must take the form of a Kamen Rider in order to not only fight, but withstand any temporal tricks that might be thrown at them."

"'Kamen Rider?'" Aelita stared at the Liner Pass in her hands. "…I didn't want to continue fighting…and yet-"

"We managed to get SOME information about your situation before contacting you," Ryoutaro interjected. "So I guess the question is…would you rather know peace, or the truth about your parents?"

"You know…I actually always thought I'd need to find the one in order to have the other. If this is what it takes to figure out why what happened to my parents wound up happening, then maybe…"

"So you'll take the job, then?"

"Under one condition." Aelita's hand snaked behind Jeremy, resting on his shoulder. "Any of my friends who wants to come with me gets to, no questions asked. Believe me when I say I wouldn't even be here without them."

"Done." Owner shot a thumbs-up. "I mean, DenLiner itself already has several non-combat personnel on board, myself included…"

"Who said anything about non-combat?" Ulrich cut in. "We can hold our own, right?"

"Regular humans will barely be effective against Imagin, unprotected Singularity Points even more so." Owner folded his hands behind his back. "Know that if you wish to accompany Miss Schaeffer, you do so at her discretion and your own risk."

"Well, what if we were all Kamen Riders, too?" Odd asked. "The more, the merrier, right?"

"If that were even possible, yes," Ryoutaro said. "But only one Rider can exist per Time Train, barring extreme circumstances such as THAT incident with Gaoh."

"Gaoh?"

"Some dude who tried to hijack a Time Train that could wipe out whole chunks of reality at once. We wound up having to bring in a bunch of Ryou's future selves to stop him. Shit was SO cash." Momotaros chuckled at the memory of four Den-Os at once.

"One Rider per train, huh…" Aelita turned toward her friends once more. "Guys, I know you're still sort of on the fence about this whole Kamen Rider business, and given the circumstances…if it becomes absolutely necessary, I'll do this alone. You all have lives, things to go home to. I'd rather not put you in danger if you won't be able to fight alongside me."

Silence echoed across DenLiner for a minute.

Then, laughter erupted, drawing everyone's attention to Ulrich. "What…what the heck's so funny?"

The boy ceased his guffaw. "Do you honestly think you can scare us off by being so poignant? We never had much of an issue balancing our lives with saving the world before, right?"

"Heck, we might actually gain something ourselves just by coming along, at least for the summer," Yumi cut in. "It's either this or I spend the next few months shopping for cram schools in Japan while Hiroki tries to get me and Ulrich in a closet together."

The German blanched at that one before continuing. "…even THAT aside, I'd rather not spend my summer being chewed out by Dad over grades, either."

"Trust me, whatever crazy family you have, my sisters are FAR worse," Odd chimed in. "I'm definitely taking my chances with the Princess instead."

"And did you forget how madly in love with you I am?" Jeremy ruffled Aelita's hair a bit. "Besides, getting the whole story about Franz Ho-er, Waldo Schaeffer and Project Carthage is as much my fight as it is yours."

"Heh, you guys…" The pink-haired girl cracked a smile. "Sissi, William, how 'bout you? Got any horrible family dysfunction waiting at home that you're just DYING to escape like the rest of us?"

"Can't say that I do," William replied, "but I've got at least one good reason to stick around."

Yumi shot a glare at him. "And that would be?"

"Uhhh…the exercise?"

"I'd have gone with the whole time travel thing," Sissi interjected, "speaking of which – we won't exactly HAVE any of these problems with prior commitments if we're back before we left, right? Is this the sort of time travel that can do that?"

"Uhhh…" Ryoutaro racked his brain for a moment. "…I think the closest that DenLiner has pulled is about an hour on either side. Something about a…what was it, Owner-san?"

"Paradox buffer."

"Yeah, that. Keeps your existence from exploding everywhere forever by preventing contact with yourself from too close to when you start time traveling."

"Bwuh?" Odd's jaw dropped, indicating his failure to parse that sentence.

"It makes it harder for you to convince your past self to do something that makes it impossible for your present self to come back in time and give those directions, and so forth," Jeremy said. "We used to not even have that problem because the Return To The Past rolled EVERYTHING back, but-"

"RYOUTARO!" Jeremy's launch into technobabble was aborted by a grade schooler-sized girl barging into the train car. "Big trouble in 2002! Ryuuta and I just got a lock on the Imagin!" The female handed a trading-sized card to the Japanese boy, which glowed with the necessary information as it entered his hand. "Oh? The new guests are still here?"

"Ummm…" Aelita stammered. "…Are we going to have to finish later?"

"Nonsense," Owner replied. "In fact, we'd like you to stick around for this one. Consider it a training exercise, if you will."

"You mean, I'll actually be fighting-"

"Yes, once Ryoutaro guides DenLiner to the proper destination."

The boy in question pulled a peculiar belt out of nowhere, snapping it around his waist. "Momotaros, let's go."

"All right! Time to bust some heads!"

With one forceful motion, Ryoutaro swiped his Liner Pass across the front of the belt's buckle. **"Henshin!"**

**[Sword Form]**

With a flash of light, Ryoutaro was clad in a drab white-and-gray suit of armor with black leggings. Colored plates of armor circled around him, settling on a shade of blood red as Momotaros faded into Ryoutaro, and finally locking onto the core suit. _"Next stop, Normandy, 2002! Let's go, go, go!"_ Momotaros's voice booming through the helmet, Kamen Rider Den-O charged towards the front of the train and the means by which DenLiner would reach its destination.

"…THAT's a Kamen Rider?"

Owner nodded in response to Aelita's query.

"Well, this might be easier than I thought."

* * *

[Omaha Beach, Normandy – June 6, 2002 – 2:25:02 PM]

An eerie whistle cut through the solemn air as DenLiner roared into existence, beelining for a monstrous humanoid near the edge of the water. The train braked sharply, curving as it stopped to cut the creature away from innocent bystanders.

_(Momotaros…did you have to make it such a rough landing?)_

_ *Hey, when you're always at climax, you gotta be prepared to be rough!*_

The front car unfolded to reveal Den-O bursting forth atop DenBird. With one hand on the throttle and another brandishing the DenGashers in Sword configuration, Ryou/Momo made a slashing pass at the kaijin, sparks flying as the blade clashed against rough skin.

Aelita and Hana peeked through the passenger door. "So THAT's what I'm supposed to be fighting?"

"Mm-hmm. Wanna go help? Can't exactly leave Momotaros unattended, y'know."

"I guess if we've got everything under control…" The pink-haired girl stepped onto the beach, Liner Pass in one hand. "So…when exactly do I get the belt?"

"Just reach behind you."

She did so, hand catching against a wide belt whose large buckle featured an eerily familiar design. "So I just snap it on, swipe the pass, and…Henshin?"

Hana giggled. "It doesn't work if you're dithering about it! Don't worry, it'll feel more natural as you get used to it."

"That's what Jeremy said," Odd snickered from inside the train.

"Oh, shut up." Taking a deep breath, Aelita steadied herself for a much more deliberate activation sequence. **"Henshin."** She brought the Liner Pass down sharply across the belt buckle.

**[User Form]**

In the same vein as Ryoutaro's transformation into Den-O, monochrome armor blinked into existence around Aelita's body…except this time, no colored portions arose. "Funny…this doesn't feel THAT powerful…"

[…]

Back aboard DenLiner, Owner grimaced. "Tch…without the new train actually at her disposal, our new Densha Rider is only as powerful as Ryoutaro's Plat Form!"

Jeremy gulped. "Is that…bad?"

"If she's anything like Ryoutaro was when he first became Den-O, then yes. Especially given that Plat Form has little in the way of attack power."

"You're sending her out there without any weapons?" William cried.

"Well, she DOES have the traditional Rider Kick…but unless her confidence outstrips that of Ryoutaro on his first couple sorties, we'd have to rely on bailing her out via possession by another of our Imagin."

"Was Ryou THAT bad during his first few times out?" Yumi asked.

"I'm told that unless one of us were driving, he'd get his ass kicked easily," Urataros replied. "Sometimes it'd leave him on the verge of crying."

"What? Who's crying?" A burly yellow figure arose from the back corner of the car.

"Ah, Kintaros. I was afraid you'd wind up sleeping through our sales pitch to the newbies."

[…]

Luckily for the peanut gallery, Aelita gave no quarter to the Imagin. The shortcomings of User Form were outpaced by rehearsed Pencak Silat blows that kept the monster staggering.

"Urgh…Whatever you are, you won't rob me of my destiny!"

"Likewise." Another punch to what Aelita was sure was the creature's solar plexus. "Your first mistake was trying to pull this in MY backyard."

_"And your LAST mistake will be thinking you could get past ME!"_ A second swipe of Den-O's Liner Pass sent energy crackling into Ryou/Momo's sword.

**[Full Charge]**

_"My Hissatsu Attack…Training Day Edition!"_ The tip of the DenGasher sword flew off, slashing a deep red across the Imagin as Den-O maneuvered his sword. _"All right, lady, it's all you from here!"_

Text flickered across the inside of Aelita's helmet as a course of action was suggested. "Can I REALLY jump that high?...May as well try it!" The gray-armored girl put some 15 feet of air between her and the enemy in a standing leap before swiping her own Pass.

**[Full Charge]**

Swirls of pink electricity gathered around Aelita's right foot as she brought it crashing into the helpless Imagin with a resounding "RIDER KIIIIIIIIIICK!" A forward tumble sent her bouncing away from the target, regaining her balance just as it exploded behind her.

_"Hmmm…Landing needs a little work, but it'll do."_

* * *

[…]

"Eeeyay, you guys were so COOL out there!" A fourth, purple Imagin greeted the pair of Riders as they stepped aboard DenLiner, clutching a crayon sketch of the previous battle. "Momo-san was all zoom, zooming all over the place, and then you were all bang, crash, kapow, and then you brought both of 'em together and-"

"I'm just gonna tell Naomi you've had enough coffee for today." Ryoutaro spoke in his own voice once more as his armor faded and Momotaros pulled himself out of his body.

"Do new creatures just keep popping up here or what?" Aelita asked as she also returned to normal.

"Oh, they've just had stuff to do in other cars." Ryoutaro turned to the 'new' arrival. "Ryuutaros, this is the new Rider we were sent to look for."

"Yaaaaay! New friend!" The vaguely dragon-looking Imagin tossed his picture aside and hugged the girl. "Mind if I welcome you? …Wait, don't answer that!"

"The pleasure's…all mine, I'm sure…" The embrace finally relaxed as a bell chime resounded throughout the train. All eyes fixed on the source – namely, Owner dangling a diminutive cowbell.

"Your attention, please." Owner set the bell down and picked up a small box. "I would like to extend a toast to our young guests, and a congratulation in particular to Mademoiselle Aelita Schaeffer – if you would come up here, please?" He opened the box as she did so, revealing a metal case with several cards inside. "These are the passes to travel on the various lines of time that stretch across the world. Just as your Liner Pass and belt designate you as Kamen Rider Den-Ae, so do these proclaim their holder the acting Owner of the time train XANALiner."

"X…XANALiner?"

The shriek that followed could be heard throughout several centuries.

**[END]**

* * *

[Next Episode Preview]

(clips from the next episode begin rolling)

Toei Announcer: _Kamen Rider Den-Ae!_

Ulrich: So you're saying there's a good reason for the train to be called that?

Owner: Beyond that, it is mere coincidence.

Aelita: I thought you said I'd be more powerful with the train on my side!

Yumi: Either way, we can't just keep sitting here and doing nothing!

Jeremy: From the looks of this…you won't have to.

[Title Card: **Episode 03: Warriors Together Again! DEN-ARMS Translation!**]

Toei Announcer: The truth lies at the end of the line!

* * *

ENDNOTE: A certain reviewer asked me if I planned to make Riders of the other Lyoko Warriors. I must admit that this was never planned to be the case, but I didn't want to have to resort to the shenanigans in _Masked Rider Den-O: The Ed Express_ (a rather heavy inspiration for this fic; it's in my Favorites here) to bring Ulrich/Yumi/Odd/William onto the battlefield in their own time. I think the next chapter will present a favorable workaround, though. Expect news by Halloween!  
- /m/'s Haken


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